Inflatable bathing suit



Oct. 16, 1951 c. I. BRISCOE INFLATABLE BATHING SUIT 2 SHEETS -SHEET 1 Filed July 24, 1950 INVENTOR ATTORNEY-5 Oct. 16, 1951 C. l. BRISCOE INFLATABLE BATHING SUIT 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed July 24, 1950 INVENTORK U. f. B 21$ 6 0e ATTORNEY5 Patented Oct. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PAT '1' OFFICE INFLATABLE BATHING SUIT Carl I. 'Briscoe, San Antonio, Tex.

Application July 24, 1950, Serial No. 175,497

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates :to an improved type of bathing suit and more particularly a bathing garment having built-in storage cavities inflatably connected to a gas liberating container :provided with control valves accessible to the "wearer of the garment.

With persons :just learning to swim and even with experienced swimmers the need for :quick support in the water often arises. Various attempts have been made to meet this need by providing inflatable devices that are either especially fitted to the swimmers'bodyor arranged as attachable devices. However, these devices have been objected to as .being considered not only unsightly but also inconvenient to .use.

It is therefore among thesobjects of this invention to provide a bathing suit of conventional design having strategically .placed built-iin pockets, cavities and passages inflatable :at :the will of the-user.

Another object is to provide a safety bathing suit having a system of infiatable compartments controlled from a central point.

Still a further object is to provide -asafety bathing suit inflatable from a gas filled cartridge by the user to different degrees of inflation.

Other objects than those stated will appear upon an understanding of the invention gained from the following descriptionwhen read in conjunction with the drawings in which like numerals refer to like parts in the different views, and defined in the appended claims.

In thedrawings:

Figure 1 is a front'eleva-tional view of the'bathing suit of this invention.

Figure 2 is a section-ofthegas'cartridge'con tainer taken on line 2 2 of'Figure 3, andshowingthe safety pin in place.

Figure 3-is a sectional view-of the gas cartridge container showing details of the control mechanism.

Figure 4 is a top plan view .of the container.

Figure 5 is" a section taken on line 5'5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a detail view of the pressure release valve.

Referring now in detail to the various views, the suit of this invention is shown generally as numeral 10. Suit [0 is of conventional bathing suit construction and can be formed from standard bathing suit material either with or without a top portion as shown. Installed in the lining of suit It! is a closed system I l of ducts and passages preferably formed from rubberized material and capable of holding suflicient pressurized air or gas to fioatingly support the body of a person Wearing the suit. The system H is so arranged that it places the right amount of buoyancy where needed to keep the bathers head above the water of floatation and properly positioned for resting or recovery. This strategical arrangement of the gas cavities places aband l2, or beltlike, encircling hollow tube at the waist line, a pair of chest tubes I3 formed with ring-like top chambers M to give greater lift near the bather s head, and side tubes I5 positioned adjacent each of the thigh portions 16 of the suit. Extending from the system I I preferably inwardly from-one side tube 15 is a supply duct ll. Duct H is of non-collapsible construction and communicated at one end [8 to tube 15 through a fitting 19 formed in the side of the tube. The other end 20 is turned upward and adapted to be secured in a receiving socket 21 of a supply tank 22 hereinafter described.

The supply tank 22 forms a holder .for a pressurized gas cartridge .23 (Figures 2, 3 and 5.) and is positioned at a convenient location adjacent the waist-line band ll 2 where it is inconspicuously held in place by a suitable pocket 24 preferably built into the suit. This construction is shown partially cut-away 'in Figure 1 to give a clear view of the tank 22 and its connections. Tank 22 is of pressure resistant construction and formed preferably of metal with an oval outer contour. The bottom :plate 25 of the tank 2-2 is formed with a-dow-nwardly opening socket 2| adapted to securedly receive the end 20 of duct l-l. Socket 2l is apertured as at 2.6 forcommunication interiorly of tank 22. Extending upwardl-y from the bottom '25 inside of tank .22 are a pair of spaced prongs -27 capable of :puncturing the cartridge 23. Secured to the bottom 25 are also a pair-of spaced springs :-28 ;.that:engage with the underside of cartridge :23 to normally hold it away from prongs 21;

Tank 22 is provided with a removable top 29 formed with an overhangingedge 30 adapted :for close encircled engagement around the top .edge 3| of the tank. Positioned between the stop 29 and edge 3| is a suitable seal means 32 for providing a gas tight seal therebetween. The top 29 is secured in place by a suitable pair of screw bolts 33 pivotally secured to lugs 34 formed on the opposite sides of the tank 22 with wing nuts 35 screwable into engagement with U-shaped extensions 36 carried by the top and aligned with said lugs.

The top 29 is formed with a cup-like depressed portion 31 centrally apertured as at 38 to receive a vertically disposed pusher rod 39. Encircling rod 39 within aperture 38 is a suitable O-ring 62 fitted in an annular groove 63 formed in the bottom 4| of cup 31. Secured in encircled engagement with rod 39 is a disc 40 spaced from the bottom 4| of cup 31. Encircling rod 39 is a coiled spring 42 having opposite ends engaging between bottom 4| and disc 40 to normally urge rod 39 to an extended position. Secured to the inserted end 43 of rod 39 as by thread-ed mounting is a pusher plate 44 adapted to engage with the top of the cartridge 22 on downward movement of the rod. The opposite end of rod 39 is rounded as at 45 to better receive an end thrust without binding the rod as hereinafter explained.

Spaced to one side of the cup 31 is an outlet opening 46 formed in the top 29, as best illustrated in Figures 3 and 6. Positioned over outlet 46 is a valve cap 41 formed with an outlet valve 48 having a plunger 49 having an end protruding from the cap as at 50. Inside the cap 41 under valve 48 is a coiled spring 5| normally ureing the valve to a closed position.

Positioned between the two rods 39 and 50 is a bifurcated vertically extending pivot mount 5| (see Figure 3). Rockably carried by mount 5| by suitable pin means 60 is a control lever 52 having one end 53 engageable with the rounded end 45 of pusher rod 39. Lever 52 is also engageable with the outlet valve plunger end 50 at a point opposite from pivot 5| when rocked in the opposite direction to effect opening of the outlet valve. A transverse handle 64 is carried at the one end 65 of lever 52 to assist in ready operation of the lever. In order to prevent undesired or accidental movement of lever 52 I have found it desirable to provide a safety bracket 54 formed with spaced uprights 55 positioned at each side of the lever end 53, as best illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. The uprights 55 are formed with aligned transverse holes 56 spaced above the rounded end 45 of the pusher rod and are positioned to receive a shearable safety wire 51, formed of a suitable material such as brass, inserted through a hole 58 formed in the lever end 53. The bracket uprights 55 extend as legs from the top 29 and are preferably weld-attached thereto as at 59.

In the operation of suit l when worn by a user a cartridge 23 is placed in the container 22 with its bottom held away from prongs 21 by springs 28. Cartridge 23 is of conventional design such as the well known CO2 charged containers capable of liberating a relatively large amount of gas on being perforated. The top 29 is secured in place by bolts 33 with seal 32 forming a sealable juncture point between the top and enclosing container 22. The safety wire 51 is preferably removed or sheared prior to entrance into the water so as to place the gas release means ready for use if and when the need for floatation arises. On the bather feeling the need for support all that is necessary is for him to pull handle 53 up sufliciently to rock lever 52 against plunger rod 39 to force the cartridge 23 downwardly for perforation by prongs 21.

Perforation of the cartridge 23 liberates gas contained therein under pressure. The liberated gas will pass through duct l1 to inflate the system H of ducts and passages as desired. In case the inflation is greater than desired the user only has to push down on handle 53 causing inward movement of outlet valve 48 venting the system H sufiiciently to release the excess gas pressure. The outlet valve 48 is also opened to allow escape of gas, or air from the system after use. Repeated use only requires the replacement of the expended cartridge by a new one.

I have found that the construction of this invention provides for retention of the gas at the pressure desired for a sufficient period of time to meet all emergency conditions which might arise in its use.

While the preferred embodiment of the inven- 'tion has been described in detail it is to be understood that minor changes in the construction, materials and arrangement of co-operating parts may be resorted to within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An inflatable bathing suit comprising a garment, an airtight storage space carried by said garment, a sealable container in communication with said space, said container being formed to enclose a perforatable pressurized gas supply cartridge placed therein, a perforating means within said container having an operating plunger extending from the compartment, a vent valve opening from said container having a protruding valve stem spaced from said plunger, a rockable lever pivotally mounted between said plunger and stem, said lever being alternately engageable with said plunger and stem to perforate the cartridge and release gas under pressure from the container on alternate rocking of the lever.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 including a safety means having a bracket disposed adjacent said lever with a removable securing member extending therebetween to hold the lever in a nonoperative position.

CARL I. BRISCOE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 7 Date 664,395 Ennis Dec. 25, 1900 1,742,368 Nunez Jan. 7, 1930 1,798,430 Markus Mar. 31, 1931 1,803,898 Diamond May 5, 1931 2,173,567 Shafer Sept. 19, 1939 2,197,228 Then Apr. 16, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 345,273 France Oct. 7, 1904 

